A biochemical analyzer is one common type of body fluid analyzer. A biochemical analyzer may include a dispensing mechanism, a reagent disk, a sample disk, and a reaction disk. The sample disk is used for holding a sample container that contains a sample for testing. The reagent disk is used for holding a reagent container that contains a reagent. The reaction disk is used for holding a cuvette. By controlling the rotation of the reagent disk, the sample disk, and the reaction disk, a dispensing mechanism dispenses sample and reagent into the cuvette. Testing and analysis are executed after the sample and reagent are mixed and reacted.
With the proliferation of body fluid analyzer applications and the increase in the number of samples to be tested, integrated body fluid workstations have appeared. These body fluid workstations may be used for biochemical analysis as biochemical analysis assembly line workstations. They may also be used for fluid analysis as body fluid workstations for blood, serum, urine, or other body fluid testing. Such body fluid workstations may include two or more analyzers, each analyzer including a dispensing mechanism, a reagent disk, and a reaction disk. In addition, such body fluid workstations may adopt a unified conveyance track, which is used for conveying sample racks that hold sample containers for testing. The sample racks are conveyed to a determined analyzer for dispensing and testing by the track.
Body fluid workstations require a high degree of automation, fast testing speeds, and the ability to process many samples. Because hospitals process many samples at a given time, there are also many reagents used in the testing process. In a fluid workstation, the doctor usually adds sufficient reagents at the beginning of a day so as to handle one day's consumption.
Advantages of adding reagents in this way include that it is easy and convenient for the doctor. However, there are also drawbacks. If a particular reagent is exhausted during testing, the testing cannot be paused, and the system must wait until other sample(s) have finished testing. Thereafter, the doctor must add more of the reagent that ran out and test the corresponding sample again, wasting the doctor's time. This may be of particular concern in emergency situations. If there is insufficient reagent during testing, the analyzer must be stopped to add the reagent, resulting in delayed reporting of test results.